When Life Gives You Lemons
by Dolphingirl32173
Summary: Life keeps giving Elena lemon after lemon and she is tired of making lemonade. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! Damon/Elena
1. Dammit, Jeremy!

When Life Gives You Lemons  
DG32173

Sarah: just a random idea I had. I hope everyone enjoys.

_**DISCLAIMER**_  
I only own what I write. This is the only disclaimer for the whole story.

_**WARNINGS**_  
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! Rated M for my sanity, not that I have any. Elena's viewpoint.

_**SUMMARY**_  
Life keeps giving Elena lemon after lemon and she is _tired_ of making lemonade. First, her brother drinks Anna's blood and commits suicide, waking up a newborn vampire. Then her doppelganger ancestor comes to town with some unknown agenda and gets an invite into her _home._ She also realizes that Stefan has secretly kept up his diet of human blood. Top _that_ off with finding out that the most ancient of all vampires, the Originals, will soon come to Mystic Falls, intent on using _Elena_ in some form of sacrificial ritual. Can't a girl _ever_ get a break? _**Damon/Elena**_

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Chapter 1  
Dammit, Jeremy!

I groan as I sit on Jeremy's bed, watching my brother. His pulse would tell you he's dead. But I knew from the instant I saw that vial with a few drops of blood left in it what is _really_ happening: Jeremy's in transition. I had called both Salvatore brothers as soon as I found the vial, but neither answered, so I left a voicemail for each of them. Something along the lines of "Jeremy drank Anna's blood then killed himself! I need a vampire here _now!"_

I run my fingers through my brother's hair. The ambulance had left with John only ten minutes ago. It was only _after_ they left that I discovered Jeremy's body. I pick up my cell phone and call Stefan again. It goes straight to voicemail. I hang up and call Damon. I listen to it ring once, twice. On the third ring, he picks up. _"I knew you couldn't resist calling me after that kiss,"_ he drawls smugly.

"What kiss?" I demand. "Never mind, I need you to get over here _now._ Jeremy's in transition."

"_WHAT?"_ he demands. _"How the hell did that happen? I was just there not even half an hour ago!"_

"You were?" I ask, surprised.

"_You were there,"_ he says slowly. _"On your front porch? I helped you with your things? We _kissed?"

"I don't know _what_ you're talking about. I only got home _barely_ twenty minutes ago. Someone _stole_ my things. When I got in, John was on the kitchen floor with his fingers cut off, including the one that has his eternity ring. He tried to tell me something and was pointing behind me, but I didn't see anyone when I turned," I tell him

He is silent for all of three seconds before letting out a blue streak that has me gaping in awe. _"You said you're with Jeremy and he's in transition?"_ he demands.

"Yes, and I need you or Stefan to get here before he wakes up. He drank Anna's blood from a vial and then downed half a bottle of painkillers to commit suicide," I tell him. "Stefan's phone keeps going straight to voicemail."

"_I'll be there soon. Open the kid's window for me."_

With that, he hangs up. I quickly get up and open Jeremy's window. Within seconds of opening the window, Damon is in the room. He _immediately_ goes to kneel at Jeremy's side. "You said there was a vial of blood?" he asks without glancing at me. I pull the vial from my pocket and press it into Damon's outstretched hand. He raises it to his nose to get the scent before sighing. "Definitely Anna's blood," he agrees. "We have to get the kid _out_ of here, _now._ There's no telling _when_ Jenna will be back. I'm going to make _sure_ he stays at the boarding house until we can get him under control of the Craving." He stands up and scoops Jeremy up in his arms.

"I called her and told her about John," I inform him, following him downstairs. "She plans on heading straight for the hospital as soon as she gets done at the fire department."

He glances towards the taped off kitchen, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "You should stay at the boarding house, too," he says, continuing outside and down the porch steps. He heads straight for my car.

I nod, digging my keys out of my purse and unlocking the car. "The police asked me to stay elsewhere and have Jenna and Jer stay somewhere else as well while they investigate what happened to John," I say softly as he gently sets Jeremy in the backseat. "I told them Jer and I would be staying with you and Stefan and that Jenna would likely sleep over at Rick's. I had gone upstairs to check on Jeremy and tell him that we would be spending a few days over at the boarding house and that's when I found him," I say, trying _not_ to give in to my emotions. My voice only cracks just slightly at the very end. I decide that I'm proud of myself for that. I can have a complete breakdown later. As soon as Damon shuts the back door of my car, I press the keys into his hand. He gives me a surprised look. "Last time I was behind a wheel with my emotions jumbled the way they are now, you had to pull me from a wreck after saving me from a vampire that wanted to kill me because I look like Katherine," I say softly. He winces, though I'm not sure why. "I _don't_ want to take that chance with Jer in the back, no matter that he's gonna pretty hard to kill in a crash after he completes transition. You're driving."

He nods and circles the front of the car in a flash while I climb in the passenger seat. As soon as I buckle up, I turn so I can watch Jer. Damon starts the car and pulls out of the driveway. "He's going to be okay, Elena," he says softly.

"I just wish I knew _why_ he would do this!" I say, completely frustrated.

"He wanted to turn off the pain of losing Anna," Damon replies.

I turn a sharp look on him. "How do you know that?" I demand.

He winces again but answers. "As soon as what burns I had healed, I headed straight over to your place, to tell Jeremy what happened to Anna. I knew how he felt about her and I felt like I had to tell him myself what happened in that basement," he says softly. "He asked if vampires could just turn it off. I knew what he was talking about. I told him about the switch but warned him that it _wasn't_ something he wanted to do. Apparently, he ignored the warning." He hesitates before plunging ahead. "When I came out, I saw who I _thought_ was you coming up the front walk, your stuff in her hands." I see clearly the pain in his eyes and know _exactly_ who he ran into. "I _never_ thought she would come back into my life. That's why I didn't pay attention to the small telltales that practically _screamed_ that she wasn't you. Jenna ended up _inviting her in,_ thinking she was you. I didn't realize why I was so uneasy about walking off until you called about Jeremy and told me about your things being taken. That's when I realized she was back. That's when I realized _Katherine_ had come back and was _invited into your home!"_ he all but snarls at the end.

I see the fury in his eyes as I feel cold dread flood through me. I close my eyes with a soft groan. "What does she want?" I ask softly.

He sighs angrily. Despite his rage, his driving is as impeccable as always. "I honestly don't know," he admits, obviously frustrated with that fact. "I mistook her for _you,_ and she played the role too damn well. I get the distinct feeling she's been in town for a while, watching us. Watching _you._ I should have been able to _tell_ that she wasn't you. I should have _known!"_

That's when his words when he picked up the phone earlier come back to me. "You _kissed_ her, thinking she was _me,"_ I realize, opening my eyes to stare at him in shock.

He scowls but admits the truth. "Yes," he whispers. I know that if he wasn't driving right now, he'd have buried his face in his hands at that admission. "She returned the kiss. That should have been the biggest sign of all that I had _made a mistake._ But I wasn't thinking straight at the time. Then Jenna opened the door on us. She looked ready to breathe fire at the scene. She told her to get in the house. An alarm went off in my head at that, which _should_ have told me something was wrong. But I walked off, not willing to face Jenna after everything that has happened tonight. Now I wish I had paid more attention to that alarm."

Seeing the pain in his eyes, hearing the crack in his voice, I instinctively reach over with my left hand, pry his right one off the steering wheel, and lace our fingers together. I take a deep breath, steadying myself. "She came back for a reason," I remind him. "If we can figure out _what_ that reason is, we can get her to leave again." I pause at that, examining his face intently.

He glances over at me and squeezes my hand gently. "If nothing else, we _have_ to find a way to rescind her invitation into your home," he says. "You, Jeremy, and Jenna are _not_ safe there while she can come and go as she pleases." He seems to sense my surprise at his inclusion of Jeremy on that list. "The kid is _just_ a newborn, Elena. He's _not_ up to facing off with a vampire as old and crafty as Katherine. If she wanted to, she could easily rip him apart without batting an eye."

I frown at that, realizing something. "Then why didn't she?" I ask softly.

"Why didn't she _what?"_ Damon asks, confused.

"Why _didn't_ Katherine kill Jeremy in a permanent fashion? I mean, she took a butcher knife and chopped John's _fingers_ off. _She_ was the one John was trying to warn me about, I'm positive of it. Why didn't she go after _me?"_ I ask. "Something is off about this whole situation. What did John do that made her _chop his fingers off_ and leave him to bleed out? Jeremy and I were in that house with her, completely defenseless. She could just as easily have taken _us_ out as well and we would not have been able to stop her. Only she _didn't_ do anything to us. I heard a sound upstairs that at the time I _thought_ was Jer. _She_ made that sound. Jer couldn't have. His heart had _already_ stopped. I get the strangest feeling she was trying to _alert_ me to what Jeremy had done. _Why_ would she do that?"

Damon frowns as he thinks about it. "You're right. She could _easily_ have killed you and the kid and _no one_ would have known what caused your deaths. But she left you both unharmed. If you're right and she _had_ been alerting you to the fact that the kid was in transition, that means she wanted to make _sure_ he didn't wake up and use _you_ as his source of blood to complete transition," he says softly, obviously puzzled.

"And all this reminds me of something else. I'm descended from her. I just _know_ that I am. Isobel is _also_ descended from her," I remark slowly. "You told me once that Isobel had tracked you down while you were in North Carolina. She already _knew_ what you were. I'm quite certain you weren't the _only_ vampire in the area that she could have gone to and talked into turning her. I'm willing to bet that she was _sent_ to _you,_ specifically. Who would have sent Isobel your way, Damon?" I ask him, already knowing the answer.

"Katherine," he realizes. "But _why?"_ he demands. "She obviously didn't _care_ how much pain she would cause me when I opened that tomb and realized she had never been in it. Even _Anna_ said as much."

"From what Anna told me, Katherine also knew _exactly_ where you were over the years. She knew _exactly_ where you were, Damon. Think about it. She may have stuck to watching Stefan herself, but she obviously kept an eye on _you_ as well. She had long-range plans for you. After all, she sent Isobel to you," I tell him. I frown thoughtfully. "I hung up with Stefan just before entering the house. I have _not_ been able to reach him since then. Have you?"

He shakes his head, his eyes narrowing. "No. I tried calling him as I raced to your place after I hung up with you. It went straight to voicemail. That means his cell phone is off. After everything that's happened today, Stefan would _not_ just turn his cell phone off. He'd keep it on in case anything _else_ went wrong." He glances at me. "What are you thinking of?"

I grit my teeth before I decide I might as well tell him the whole mess I've been going through concerning Stefan. "You've noticed I haven't spent much time around Stefan, not since he stood me up at Miss Mystic Falls, haven't you?" I ask.

"Who _hasn't?"_ he groans. _"Everyone_ is wondering what the hell is going on with you two, myself included. I thought you would have gone straight back into his open arms as soon as we detoxed him off human blood."

I frown. "That's the problem. I don't think we succeeded as well as he is trying to make us _think_ we have," I tell him.

He glances sharply at me as he finally turns up the long driveway leading to the boarding house. "What makes you think that?" he asks slowly.

"His eyes," I reply immediately. "His eyes are _different_ when he's on human blood compared to when he's on animal blood. His eyes on human blood are like those of a rabid yet intelligent predator. Even at your worst, your eyes were _never_ that crazed. Have you ever actually _witnessed_ him feeding from animals since we supposedly detoxed him?" I ask as he pulls to a stop in my usual parking spot, turns off the car, and turns to face me fully.

He grimaces. "No. I never watch him do that. I find it too revolting," he admits. "When he goes hunting, I make sure he heads for the woods rather than the town before heading back inside."

I sigh. "Even if he _does_ go into the woods, that doesn't mean he _stops_ in the woods. His hunting trips have always been very long, sometimes lasting an entire day or even a whole weekend. That's _plenty_ of time for him to vamp a few towns away and feast on the humans _there_ before coming back."

Another _highly_ colorful, _extremely_ creative blue streak slips past Damon's lips. Finally, he closes his eyes and rakes his left hand through his hair, a fierce scowl falling over his beautiful features. "How could I _not_ have seen the signs?" he growls. "I've _seen_ him on human blood _many_ times over the years. I've _seen_ what he's like."

I squeeze the hand still holding mine. "We've both seen how crafty Stefan was when he was trying to get me to believe he was back on animal blood," I tell him. "I have a feeling that when he realized we were _completely_ willing to starve him to get him back on it _properly,_ he got desperate. Human blood is like a highly addictive drug for him. I realize that now. He knew that if he wanted to keep dosing up on that drug, he would _have_ to make a few short-term sacrifices to throw us off the track. He knew he had to drink animal blood just long enough to get us to relax our guard. I have a feeling that he found some way to spike the animal blood you gave him with _just_ enough human blood so that he would not fall back into a form of predatory hibernation." I take a deep breath. "But I could tell by looking in his eyes that something was wrong. Those eyes he turns on me terrify me like nothing I've ever faced." I sigh, releasing Damon's hand so I can turn and look back at my brother's body. He puts the car in park and turns it off. "How long before he wakes up?" I ask softly.

Damon sighs and climbs out of the car without answering. I know he's not avoiding the question. I know he realizes that we have to put Jeremy in one of those horrible cells in the boarding house basement before he gets anywhere _near_ the point of waking up. I grab my purse and exit the car as well. I notice that Damon is already lifting Jer out of the backseat. As soon as Damon closes the back door, holding Jeremy in one arm, I lock the car and shut my door. I follow Damon into his beautiful home and down to the basement. I watch from the hallway as he gently lays my brother's body on a stone bench at the back of one of the cells. I note with relief that it's _not_ the one that we had locked Stefan in. Damon examines Jeremy carefully, obviously searching for signs that he'll wake up soon. He then comes back out of the cell and shuts the door, sliding the bolt home. I look through the barred window at my brother's body. I shudder at the sight of him locked up and quickly make my way up to the living room, heading straight for the bar to get a strong drink in me.

"You're not going to stay with him?" Damon asks from the doorway leading down to the basement.

I pour the high-quality bourbon I found into a whisky glass, concentrating intensely so that my shaking hands won't spill so much as a _drop_ of the fine alcohol. I repeat the process with a second glass before recapping the bottle and returning it to its position on the shelf. I turn around, grab up one of the glasses and take a long swallow before answering. "I can't _stand_ to see him locked up like that. It's a _million_ times worse than it was with Stefan. That's my _little brother_ down there, Damon," I whisper, closing my eyes as I hold the whisky glass to my forehead while leaning against the bar. "I don't know how you managed to stay so _calm_ when it was Stefan locked up. I know that despite all that hate and anger and hurt standing between the two of you, you would both _gladly_ give up your lives to save the other."

I don't hear Damon's footsteps cross the floor but I do hear the faintest scrape of glass against granite as he picks up the glass of bourbon I poured for him to take a drink. "You're right," he says huskily after several minutes of silence. "I would give up everything, even my life, to save him if I had to. The only reason I didn't show how much it hurt me to have Stefan locked up down there was because I knew that if _I_ cracked, _you_ would have shattered." He lets out a dry chuckle. "Being an older sibling puts one repeatedly in difficult positions."

"Tell me about it," I mutter, taking a sip of bourbon as I open my eyes and look at Damon. "I know that I can't _possibly_ be in the same room as him. Not until you've gotten him in _complete_ control of himself. He could lose control for just an _instant_ and end up killing me. That would be the last straw on his sanity. He'd go completely mad." I take a shaky breath, knowing that what I am about to do is going to be one of the toughest things I've ever done. "I want _you_ to teach him how to live on a diet of human blood and teach how he can do so _without_ hurting anyone."

His arm snakes across the bar and he grabs my chin to force me to look directly into his ice blue eyes. "Are you absolutely _certain_ about that, Elena?" he asks softly, searching my eyes intently. "Once he's tasted human blood, he will _never_ be able to handle going over to animal blood."

I stare directly into his eyes, letting him see _just_ how certain I am. "I don't want my brother going crazy around human blood the way Stefan does. I want him to be able to control himself and his Craving no matter _what_ challenges he faces," I reply firmly.

His eyes soften and he releases my chin. "And I don't want to face dealing with another Ripper," he agrees.

"Ripper?" I ask uncertainly.

"Stefan will _never_ forgive me for this, but you _have_ to know one of the worst extremes of vampirism," he replies, his eyes darkening with pain. "Some vampires, losing themselves completely to the Craving, get the merest taste or whiff of human blood and go on a killing spree, draining their victims dry and sometimes feeding so hard that they _literally_ rip their prey to pieces in their need to get every last drop of blood. These vampires are called Rippers. Very few of them live to see their first decade, fewer still their second. _Stefan_ is the only one I know of that has survived past their third. Rippers die young because their inability to control the Craving causes them to catch the deadly attention of humanity the second they try to feed. Humans kill most Rippers quickly. Others are taken down by our own kind so that they don't expose us all to the human race. Stefan has only survived as long as he has thanks to Lexi and I." He closes his eyes and grief washes over his features. "I was a fool to take out Lexi like I had. _She_ would know how to bring him back from his madness. I was a fool to take out such a good friend to save my own hide."

I reach across the bar and cup his face with one hand. "You had your switch off, Damon," I remind him. "It took a _lot_ of hell on my part to pry your humanity out."

He opens his eyes and captures my gaze with his. A lump forms in my throat at the tenderness softening his ice blue gaze. "I don't know what I would have done without you," he admits softly, covering my hand with his. "I will _never_ be able to repay you for all you have done for me."

I give him a weak smile. "Well, you could start by promising me that you will _never_ flip that switch again," I tell him seriously. "I would not thank you if you make me have to go through all that trouble again. And I _would_ do so. Then I'd kick your ass for putting me through that shit a second time."

He chuckles before dropping his hand from mine and stepping away from my touch. "I think you broke the switch when you brought my humanity back, so I couldn't flip it even if I wanted to," he teases with a smirk. He downs the last of his bourbon quickly before changing the subject. "Anyways, I doubt Jeremy will wake before tomorrow. _We_ should head to the hospital. Caroline is there, and her condition isn't too good from what I understand."

"But what if he _does_ wake while we're gone?" I ask, casting a worried glance towards the basement door as I circle the bar to stand next to Damon. I had already finished my own bourbon.

"His leftover human blood will keep him alive for about thirty-six hours from when he first wakes up in transition," he assures me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and all but _dragging_ me towards the front door. "He will be fine while we're gone. Katherine didn't kill him when she had the chance, which means she won't now."

I relent and let him finish guiding me to front door. But the second he _opens_ that door, we freeze in shock at who is standing on the front step. A cold chill runs down my spine as I stare into a face identical to mine, as if my reflection in a mirror had come frighteningly to life. Damon draws me even closer to his side as his body goes completely rigid at the sight of his sire.

"Hello, Damon, Elena," Katherine Pierce greets, her lips curling up into a smirk as she crosses her arms. "Why don't we all go inside and have a seat? We need to talk."

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Sarah: I know that was an absolutely _evil_ cliffhanger, but I don't care. I hope everyone has enjoyed what I have written so far. Please review and tell me what you think.


	2. Katherine

When Life Gives You Lemons  
DG32173

Sarah: yes, yes, I know. How I ended last chapter has likely caused a _huge_ amount of curiosity to rise in my readers. But there is a _reason_ I ended it there. I did _not_ want to include Katherine's highly interesting conversation with Damon and Elena in the last chapter. I had intended from the moment the idea for this story hit me that the conversation have a chapter _entirely_ to itself. But a _few_ other things will happen as well. So here it is. Please enjoy. Also, very sorry about the delay in updates, one of my nieces came to live with us and then recently my asthma and allergies have been going haywire. Here's chapter 2.

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Chapter 2  
Katherine

Damon immediately shoves me behind him in a move of protection. I peer over his shoulder, watching my doppelganger warily. "Katherine," Damon all but snarls.

I'm surprised to see the touch of regret shine in Katherine's eyes. "I was truly surprised to see you at Elena's home, Damon," she says softly, circling Damon to come inside. Damon keeps his body between Katherine and me, completely ready to defend me with his life. _"Relax._ I will not kill my own _granddaughter,"_ she says, throwing a smirk over her shoulder at us. She heads straight for the living room and takes a seat in one of the chairs. Damon and I watch her closely. "After all, _I_ was the one to alert her to her brother's choice. I wasn't about to let him wake up and feed on her to complete transition. I knew that the second Elena realized what Jeremy had done, she would immediately get one of you brothers to her side to help take care of him." She watches us stand at the entrance to the living room. "Have a seat," she invites, motioning towards one of the couches. "I haven't fed from the vein in a _very_ long time. As you have done, Damon, I have taken to getting my blood from blood banks. I'm not about to go back on that choice with my own family."

Damon takes my hand and cautiously leads me to the couch Katherine had gestured to. He pulls me down beside him, keeping an arm around me. "In 1864, you were _thrilled_ to drink from humans, teaching me how a vampire hunts while I was still human," he remarks coldly. "Why would you have such a drastic change of heart?"

Katherine cocks her head to the side, her eyes meeting mine. "I was turned in the late fifteenth century," she says softly, ignoring the question. "Prior to that, I had a child out of wedlock, a baby girl. My indiscretions shamed my family. When my lover refused to acknowledge the child as his when it was discovered I was pregnant, I was locked away in our home until I gave birth to the child. I never got to hold her or even see her face. She was taken from me and given to a cousin to raise as her own. I was disowned by my family and shipped off to London. My birth name is _not_ Katherine Pierce. I was born Katarina Petrova, only child of a noble family in Belgium. After I was banished, my father made it appear that I had succumbed to a sickness and died. He even had a closed coffin funeral for me. No one was to know of my shame, so it was made to seem that I had been the last of my family line.

"I had _nothing_ in England. I didn't even know the language. I knew I had to work fast. I taught myself the language and searched feverishly for someone to act as a guardian for me. In those days, a lone woman in England with no guardian had no rights and any man could do as he pleased to her. Finally, I found a nobleman who was willing to take me in and act as my guardian. Little did I know that he was a vampire." She watches us silently for a few moments. I glance at Damon and can tell instantly that he never knew any of this. Finally, Katherine sighs and continues. "He was not just _any_ vampire, either," she tells us. "He was one of the Originals."

Beside me, Damon freezes, his face a mask of horror. "What's an Original?" I ask.

"The Originals are the first vampires," Damon tells me, his voice shaking. "They are the oldest and most powerful of our kind. _They_ are the founders of the five vampire bloodlines."

"Indeed. It was some time before I realized _exactly_ what Klaus wanted me for," Katherine says softly. "I was to be sacrificed because I was the doppelganger. I didn't wait around to find out the _reason_ behind the sacrifice. I fled as fast as I could. I had managed to steal a small vial of vampire blood. As soon as I had as safe a hiding spot as I could find, I drank the blood and killed myself. I knew what he needed was a _human_ doppelganger. As a vampire, I knew I would be safe. After I woke up and completed transition, I made my way _back_ to Belgium to find out what had become of my family." She closes her eyes and immense grief washes over her features. "They were murdered to the last one. I became frantic to find out _what_ had become of my child. I searched for her and the cousin that was raising her. I was relieved to find that my daughter had remained untouched. I _vowed_ to watch over my bloodline, protecting them. I realized as soon as I found my family dead that, in spite of the fact that I couldn't bear to face death as a human, I would give my _life_ to protect my descendants." She gives me a wry grin. "Imagine my surprise when I watched as, time and again, the lives of my descendants became irrevocably intertwined with the supernatural, _vampires_ in particular. They _all_ managed to have at least one child before they each were turned."

She turns to Damon. "As a human, I had always had a sense of what was to come, whether it be soon or some distance in the future. As a vampire that sense strengthened alongside everything else. The moment I laid eyes on you and your brother, I _knew_ that I had no choice but to turn you both. I _knew_ that one day you two would risk your lives time and again to protect one of my descendants." She sighs. "But even _after_ I became a vampire, Klaus refused to give me up. Killing my kin was not enough for him to get even for my slipping through his grasp. I could _never_ stop moving, _never_ stop running." She gives Damon a tender look. "I _did_ care for both you _and_ Stefan, _strongly._ But I _knew_ that eventually _you,_ Damon, would leave me for the descendant I knew you would risk everything to protect. That knowledge had hurt me greatly, but I did not stop in my intentions to turn you both in order to protect the one who had yet to be born. Shortly before the roundup in 1864, I sensed that I had to move on and _soon._ I had not _wanted_ to abandon either of you. But if I had stuck around, _Klaus_ would have realized that something was special about you two and would have stopped at _nothing_ to destroy you both. I spoke with Emily about _what_ I could do to throw Klaus off my trail, even temporarily. As a witch, her ability to see into the future was far more powerful than mine. And she told me what I must do. I _begged_ for another option. I knew that your tenacity would not let you stop until you opened that tomb only to realize that I was never there." Damon and I can both see the utter honesty and guilt in her eyes. "But she told me that was the _only_ way to get Klaus to let you two live. She told me that once Klaus realized that, if I really was in that tomb, he would have no choice but to wait until you opened it. And I realized that his desire to get to me would be far greater than his wish to harm you and Stefan. I realized that you would both be safe from his wrath so long as he thought you were his only way of getting his hands on me."

As she speaks, I watch the myriad of emotions fly through Damon's eyes as he realizes she is speaking with complete honesty. I grip his hand again, lacing our fingers together, and gently squeeze. He glances at me and I see _exactly_ how confused he is by this turn of events. After a moment, Katherine continues. "I did _not_ want to betray those vampires that looked up to me, particularly Pearl and Anna. I knew that most of them would crave vengeance on you, Stefan, and this town. But if I was to protect you brothers _and_ my descendant, I had no choice. That vervaine had _not_ weakened me as much as I let everyone think. Ever since I became a vampire, I have been ingesting small doses of vervaine to nourish a resistance to it." Damon cringes at the thought. "I knew I would _never_ be able to become _completely_ immune to vervaine, not even if I lived until the end of time. But I knew that as the years wore on, that resistance to it would grow stronger. And it has. But it broke my heart to watch as your own father shot you down without remorse, knowing I could _not_ let him know that the vervaine had not affected me as much as he thought it had, not even to act on the revenge I wanted for his lack of guilt." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "I kept track of you while I kept my own eye on Stefan. I had known that _not_ being able to walk him through the basic steps of being a vampire like I had you was going to come with a high price once he turned. But I _never_ thought he would become a Ripper. If I had even the slightest _thought_ that he _might_ end up like that, I would have used compulsion in order to teach him what you learned so willingly." She presses her lips together in a grim line. "I came back around in time to watch the Miss Mystic Falls pageant," she informs us. "I watched the dance you two shared and I _knew_ that _Elena_ was the descendant I had sensed that I would eventually lose you to. I also _knew_ that if Klaus _ever_ found out that a new human doppelganger has appeared, he would stop at _nothing_ to get his hands on her." Damon's grip on my hand comes close to crushing it at her words. "When I realized from the talk of the crowd that _Stefan_ was the one who was _supposed_ to be dancing with her, I realized something was wrong. I _immediately_ left to find out what had caused him to give up that dance. I found him trying to fight the Craving that was telling him to kill that girl. I _hated_ being unable to stop him as he slowly lost that battle. I watched, distantly, as you two worked to try to break the grip his addiction to human blood had on him, sensing that he would _not_ go down without a fight. I was right." She gives us a grim smile. "As soon as I alerted Elena to Jeremy's choice, I immediately sought out Stefan, determined to _force_ him to learn to _control_ the Craving by any means necessary. You both know by now that his phone keeps going straight to voicemail."

"What did you do with my brother, Katherine?" Damon asks in a dangerously soft voice when she pulls Stefan's phone out of her pocket.

"I snuck up on him, dosed him with enough vervaine to keep him knocked out until late tomorrow, then locked him up in a place that not even _I_ would be able to get out of without aid from the outside," she says, tossing the phone to Damon, who catches it with one hand. "I plan on doing what his darling Lexi was too chicken to do in order to show him that he _cannot_ continue to let human blood be his ultimate weakness. I _refuse_ to do as you two had tried to do and force him back on animal blood. He will _never_ learn control that way." I see the dangerous glint in her eyes and know that whatever she plans on doing will _not_ be pretty. "I have learned a few tricks in my centuries that allow me to enter another's mind even _if_ the human is on vervaine, even _if_ the vampire is wide awake and at full strength," she says in a deadly soft voice. I gasp in horror. "I will go _into_ Stefan's mind and force him to see _exactly_ what his fate will be if he does _not_ learn to control the Craving. If he continues to let human blood turn him into a Ripper, he will eventually destroy _everything_ he's ever cared about before being viciously taken down by our own kind. I will _not_ let that happen." She watches us as her words sink in. "Damon, you should take Elena to the hospital. Her friend, Caroline, was badly injured in a crash tonight and will need vampire blood if she is to survive. I will stay here and keep watch over Jeremy. I know both your numbers. If he should wake up while you're gone, which is _highly_ unlikely, I will contact you immediately."

"You were the one who chopped John's fingers off," I accuse softly. She nods. "Why did you try to kill him?"

She chuckles humorlessly. "I was _not_ trying to kill him. If I wanted him _dead,_ I would have ripped his heart out. I was merely giving him a warning. I _knew_ that you would show up in time to call an ambulance and save his miserable life."

"What warning could you have needed to give him by removing his fingers?" I demand.

She glances at Damon before turning back to me. "I was the one who sent him and Isobel to get that device to wipe out the tomb vampires when I realized that they were too dangerous to let live. But I _told_ them that Stefan, Damon, Pearl, and Anna were _not_ to be touched. They, however, were so upset that their daughter and his nephew were hanging out with vampires that they did not listen to my instructions. Isobel might be a descendant of mine, but I _would not_ let her get away with what she had done. I never approved that she had mixed my blood with that of the Gilbert family, but directly disobeying me like she had done was far worse. Before I stole your things, Elena, I made her realize with absolute clarity that even if she _is_ of my blood, I will _not_ let her cross me like that again and live," she says, her eyes glistening with white-hot fury. "John got that same warning. I also told him that those lovely little eternity rings passed down through his family _only_ exist because of Emily, who made them at _my_ request. I could _easily_ have taken his ring, but I felt it should stay in the Gilbert family." In a flash, she is standing. "Now you should hurry. Caroline is in true danger of dying unless she gets vampire blood in her system to heal her. _I_ would do it myself, if only for Elena's sake, but I _can't._ Your witch-friend, Bonnie Bennett, will know _immediately_ who and what I am if she so much as lays a _finger_ on me. She will _not_ be happy that I have arrived in town when she eventually finds out and will not let me anywhere _near_ Caroline. So go. Jeremy will be safe with me. Even though he is not of my blood, he is _still_ Elena's brother in every way that matters. Family is important, whether related by blood or not. I will let no harm come to him." Damon stands up, pulling me to my feet. As he turns me to the door, Katherine's voice stops us. "And Elena?"

"Yes?" I ask, glancing back at her.

"Let Bonnie know that the threat to Damon she gave Stefan will _not_ go unpunished if she ever chooses to follow through with it. Tell her those words came directly from my lips. She will understand exactly what threat I am talking about. I will not allow _anyone,_ not even the direct descendant of a dear friend, bring harm to those I care about for _any_ reason without taking my vengeance. Tell her the _only_ reason she is still among the living is because I would not have hurt _you_ by killing your friend without due cause. If she ever _gives_ me a reason, I _will_ take her down. She is _just_ a fledgling witch. Her parlor tricks will not be enough to take _me_ out. If she tries to come after me, she will not survive the attempt. Tell her all this."

I see in those eyes so much like mine the deadly vow Katherine is making. I gulp. "I'll tell her," I promise before Damon quickly guides me out the front door, closing it behind us. I tremble in fear as he quickly tucks me in the passenger seat of the Camaro, buckling my seatbelt for me when it becomes apparent that my hands are shaking too much to do so myself. He shuts my door and quickly flits around the car to get in the driver seat. As soon as he has the car on the main road, heading for the hospital, he takes my hand in his, using his thumb to rub soothing circles on the back of mine. "She is serious about her threat to Bonnie, isn't she?" I ask softly.

He sighs, knowing that I saw the malice in her eyes just as clearly as he did. "Yes, she is," he replies. "And I will not be able to stop her. She's got several centuries on me, making her _much_ more powerful."

"She wouldn't kill you if you tried to stop her. I'm sure of that," I tell him.

"She wouldn't have to go so far as _killing_ me to make sure I don't get in her way," he points out. "And if what she said about Klaus needing to sacrifice a human doppelganger for some reason is true, we are going to need every bit of help we can get to stop him from killing you. Even if it means trusting _Katherine's_ word that she doesn't want you dead."

I sigh, running my free hand through my hair. "I could see in her eyes that she wasn't lying when she told us what Klaus had done to her family after she turned herself to get away from him. I _can't_ let that happen to mine," I say, my voice shaking. I sigh, staring out the window as we finally reach the town, watching as the streetlights and houses pass by quickly as Damon drives as fast as legally possible to the hospital. "Why was she so insistent that we save Caroline? Why would she care what happened to her?" I wonder.

"Apparently she knows just how much it would hurt you if anything happened to someone you care about," he replies, voice tight. "She was being completely honest about not wanting to see you in pain."

The rest of the drive is spent in an uneasy silence, both of us gripped by dark thoughts. Finally, Damon pulls into the hospital's parking lot and shuts off the Camaro. I manage to get out, shut the door, and start making my way to the doors of the hospital before he manages to catch up to me. He walks me into the hospital and up to Caroline's floor. I head straight for Bonnie while Damon makes a beeline for Caroline's room.

I quickly pull Bonnie to the side. "We need to talk," I tell my friend.

"What is Damon doing?" she asks, her eyes on the door Damon had closed behind him.

"Making sure that Caroline will survive," I tell her. Her eyes are instantly on me at those words, widening in surprise. "There are a few things I have to tell you, though."

"What do you need to tell me that can't wait?" she asks.

I lead her over to a vacant couch and pull her down beside me before starting. "Jeremy's in transition," I say softly.

"How?" she demands, turning pale.

"After Damon healed from his burns, he went straight to my house to inform Jeremy of what happened to Anna. Apparently Anna had given him a vial of her blood at some point. Wracked with grief, he drank that blood and overdosed on half a bottle of painkillers, committing suicide." I take a shaky breath. "He hasn't woken up yet, and Damon doubts he will before tomorrow. That is the _only_ reason I am here now. As soon as I arrived home, I realized something was wrong. I found John on the kitchen floor. The fingers of one of his hands had been chopped off, including the one with his eternity ring. I immediately called for an ambulance. He tried to warn me that _something_ was in the house with us. Then I heard a sound from upstairs and I _thought_ it was Jeremy. The ambulance and cops had come and gone by then. I ran upstairs to check on my brother, only to find him lying in his bed without a pulse. The vial that _had_ held Anna's blood was in his hand, with just a few drops left. I knew instantly what he had done. I called both Damon and Stefan, knowing that he would need their help when he woke up. I was only able to get through to Damon. He came over in a flash and helped me get Jer over to the boarding house, where we locked him in one of the cells in the basement." I tremble as I remember looking at him through that barred window. "I clued Damon in on why I _thought_ Stefan wasn't picking up."

"What did you tell him?" Bonnie asks softly.

I feel the grief flooding over my face as I rehash that discussion in a condensed version. Bonnie trembles next to me as she realizes I speak the truth. "Damon managed to convince me that we had to come check on Caroline. But the second he opened the front door, I knew we would have to delay that for a bit."

"Who was at the door?"

"Katherine," I breathe. Bonnie freezes, her face a mask of shock and horror. "She wanted to talk with us and ushered us back inside. She explained why she had come back. She told us _she_ was the one who had cut John's fingers off as a warning against ever going against her orders again. She had sent him and Isobel here to retrieve the device so that the tomb vampires would not continue being a threat. But she had told them they were _not_ to go after Damon, Stefan, Pearl, or Anna. They disobeyed her orders, and she gave them _both_ a warning to make them realize she would not tolerate such disobedience. She said that if they _ever_ go after someone she cares about again, she would kill them, no matter that they are my birth parents and Isobel is a descendant of hers. Katherine was the one who made that noise upstairs, an attempt to alert me to what Jeremy had done."

"_How_ did she get an invite into your home?" Bonnie asks, obviously trying not to completely freak out.

"Jenna mistook her for me when she caught her on the porch with Damon. She wasn't very happy about the way she had caught them, so she told Katherine to get in the house, thinking she was me. After everything that happened tonight and considering the fact that he _never_ thought she would ever come back into his life, Damon had not realized until I called to tell him about Jeremy that it was Katherine on the porch with him and not me." I meet Bonnie's eyes, letting her see the fear in mine. "Katherine says she overheard a threat against Damon you made to Stefan. She wouldn't go into detail about it, but told me to tell you a few things. She said to tell you that the _only_ reason she had not taken you down then and there was because you are my friend. She said to tell you that you are only a fledgling witch and not _nearly_ powerful enough to take _her_ down. I am to tell you that if you _ever_ try to go through with that threat, ever go after someone she cares about, or ever _attempt_ to go after _her,_ she _will_ kill you, no matter that it would hurt me to lose you and no matter that you are a direct descendant of Emily, who she referred to as a dear friend. She called all the magic you have done these past few months 'parlor tricks' and said that they will never be enough to take out a vampire as old and powerful as she is. I saw in her eyes that she was dead serious." Bonnie turns ashen. _"Katherine_ is behind Stefan's disappearance. She pulled out his phone as proof and gave it to Damon. She said she is not going to let human blood continue to be Stefan's ultimate weakness and will do whatever it takes to get him in control of the Craving." I sigh. "After that, she said she would watch over Jeremy while we came to make sure Caroline would live. The only reason I trusted that she would not kill him was because if she had wanted either of us dead, she would have killed us in our own home while we were completely defenseless."

Bonnie searches my eyes, her concern for me shining in hers. She realizes I am holding something back. "What aren't you telling me, Elena?" she asks softly.

I cringe. _"That_ will take quite some time to explain and should not be done here. I was hoping you would come back to the boarding house with Damon and I so we can tell you what else Katherine told us. Just know that I am in extreme danger for what I am and we will need _all_ the help we can get to prevent my being used as a sacrifice. That means we will _all_ have to trust Katherine's word that she does _not_ want me dead. Even Katherine is afraid if this coming threat. _Deathly_ afraid."

"But Katherine is _centuries_ old! That makes her the most powerful vampire we have come across yet!" Bonnie breathes, eyes wide in fright.

"What is coming now is _far_ more powerful than even Katherine. _It_ is the reason she has been on the run since before she turned herself," Damon says softly, appearing next to us. Bonnie jumps in surprise. I had known his hearing would allow him to hear our conversation in spite of the fact we had spoken in whispers. I meet his eyes, letting him see the question in mine. "Caroline had massive internal bleeding," he says softly. "I waited for the nurses to leave the room, got that Matt guy and Liz to agree to go downstairs and get some coffee, then fed her my blood. She's healing now, well on the way to making a full, if rapid, recovery. In about twenty-four hours, give or take, my blood will be out of her system."

Bonnie breathes a sigh of relief. Damon backs up enough to let us stand up. Bonnie grabs her purse and shoulders it. "Elena said that the two of you will let me in on _what,_ exactly, this new threat to her is at the boarding house. I also want to see Jeremy with my own eyes," she says softly. "We should get going. I'll follow you in my car."

"I want to check in on John," I tell them softly. "I may hate him and Isobel for all they have done to those I care about, but they are still my birth parents. I want to make sure that Katherine was also honest when she said that they will continue to live. Since I have no way of tracking down Isobel, I will have to settle with making sure John is going to make it through this. Whether the doctors are able to reattach his fingers or not, I neither know nor care."

Damon narrows his eyes, a flash a fury in the icy blue at the reminder of what John and Isobel had done tonight. But he nods his understanding, knowing that they are on my _very_ short list of family. The three of us make our way to the nurses' desk at the front of the ICU wing. I ask where John would be, referring to him as my uncle when asked. The nurse doesn't want to let Damon and Bonnie come with me at first, but I tell her that _I_ was the one who had found John with his fingers cut off and I would need their support emotionally. She immediately gives us his room number. I thank her and head straight for the room, Damon at my side and Bonnie trailing reluctantly behind us.

As I open the door to John's room, I see that he is awake. The second his eyes land on me, they widen in fear and he starts trying to reach for the button to call the nurse. Damon is there in a flash, pinning John's arms to his side. Bonnie closes the door behind us. "It's me, John. Elena," I tell him softly. He briefly searches my eyes before relaxing. "Katherine said that cutting off your fingers was her only warning to you."

He pales. "You saw Katherine?" he asks fearfully.

"We had _quite_ the interesting conversation, actually," Damon speaks up, releasing John's arms. "Also, did you know that Jeremy has been holding onto a small vial of Anna's blood?" the blue-eyed Salvatore asks almost conversationally. John shakes his head. "Well, he was. When I informed him _exactly_ what I watched you do to her in that basement when she couldn't even _defend_ herself because of all that vervaine she was dosed with, he cracked. He asked about the switch vampires have to turn their emotions on and off. I _tried_ to warn him that the switch is not something to be flipped lightly. He didn't listen. Apparently he was too overcome by grief because next thing I knew, _Elena_ was calling me, freaking out because she had found the kid lying in his bed with no pulse and that vial in his hand, with only a few drops remaining left in it." Damon narrows his eyes at John. Bonnie and I watch in silence as the two seem to have a silent battle of wills as Damon tells John of tonight's events. "Your nephew overdosed on half a bottle of pain pills after drinking Anna's blood so that he could become a vampire and flip his emotions off just so he won't have to deal with all the crap that's been loading up on his shoulders over the past several months. And, surprisingly, if it weren't for _Katherine,_ your _daughter_ might _still_ be at that house with Jeremy laying in his room, going into transition. She might even have decided to wait until morning to get the kid over to the boarding house. She's also been through hell these past few months, even more so than her brother. I could tell as soon as I heard her voice that she was on the brink of breaking down or passing out. Looking at her now," Damon says, glancing at me before returning his attention to John, "I can see she is _still_ on that edge. Let's say that Katherine _hadn't_ alerted Elena to Jeremy's choice. Let's say that Elena had only glanced in his room and thought he was sleeping. Let's say that she had gone to bed, deciding to wait until morning before bringing the kid over to the boarding house. Now think about what would have happened if the kid woke up while she was sleeping just one room over. He would have heard her heart beating immediately. He would have smelled all that blood that is _still_ covering the kitchen. He wouldn't have known that it was your blood, not hers. He wouldn't have realized that heartbeat belonged to his sister. He would have been overwhelmed by the Craving telling him to _feed,_ to complete transition." Damon watches John dispassionately as my father obviously pictures this scenario in vivid detail. "Jeremy would have left his room and stalked with the silence of a true predator to Elena's room. His vampire instincts would have kept him wary and careful since as a human he knew that _she_ knew about our kind and that knowledge would have been at the back of his mind. He might even vaguely have recognized her for who she is. But he would not have been able to stop himself from going to her bedside. As worn out as Elena is now and as safe as her instincts would make her feel around her brother, who she loves more than anything else in this world, she would not have woken up. Jeremy would have sunk his fangs into her neck, his whole body aching for the blood in her veins. Elena may or may not have woken up then. Even if she had woken up and fought him, she would not have won. Jeremy would have drained her dry, killing her. Only after it was all over, only after it was too late, he _might_ have been able to get back in control of himself. But he would immediately see what he had done. Elena would be dead and at his hands. Jeremy would have lost his final reason to keep it together, in spite of having been holding a grudge against her for a few weeks now. His grief and self-hatred would have forced him to flip the switch, permanently." Damon is quiet for a moment, letting his words sink into John's head. I shudder at the thought of Jeremy becoming the emotionless, uncaring monster that is a vampire with their switch flipped. "Eventually, if humans hadn't _already_ taken him out, the vampire community would have decided that he was too big a risk to let live." Damon gives John a cruel smirk. "And all that would have been because _you,_ John Gilbert, are too full of spite to face the fact that vampires are _not_ all monsters out to destroy the human race. Hell, _no_ vampire wants the human race gone, the primary reason being that human blood keeps us at a so much higher level of power than animal blood. Another reason is that vampires always eventually find that one human that they just _cannot_ live without. One of two things happens at that point. Either the vampire turns the human into another vampire and they become mates. Or, if the human is not willing to become immortal, the vampire stays by the human's side until they die. Once the human is gone, the vampire will then kill themselves because facing a world without the one they loved in it will be asking far more than anyone will _ever_ be willing to give. I have heard of vampires that tried flipping the switch after losing the one they loved only to find that the switch had been broken long ago. And no vampire can _ever_ keep their switch flipped off after finding that one human they can't live without. It's impossible. The human will find _some_ way of pulling out the vampire's humanity, breaking the switch when they do so."

I watch Damon closely, seeing in his eyes that he knows the truth in this because of personal experience. Then the words that fell from his lips earlier tonight echo in my mind: _"I think you broke the switch when you brought my humanity back, so I couldn't flip it even if I wanted to."_ A chill runs down my spine that I realize _I_ have become that one human _Damon_ would not be able to live without. I had thought he was teasing when he said it, but I can tell by looking at him now he was hiding just how serious he was from me. I quickly tear my eyes off him and turn towards John. "Katherine told us that she gave Isobel a warning like the one she gave you," I tell him, surprised at how steady my voice is. "I only came to make sure that she was being honest when she said that you weren't going to die. In spite of how much I hate you and Isobel for what you two have done to those precious to me, you are also part of my very short list of family and I look out for my family and friends, no matter how I feel about them. I'm giving you my own warning, though, and I want you to pass it along to Isobel if you see her before I do. Go after those I care about again and Katherine won't have to lift a finger in retribution because there will not be enough remains left for her to get vengeance _on._ My parents or no, I will not let your ridiculous grudge against vampires put my friends in harm's way again without taking action against you." I let him see the utter hatred I hold for him. I give a cruel smirk. "Besides, if you want to protect me from a powerful threat coming for me because I am the doppelganger, you will need _all_ of my friends and whatever aid Katherine can gather up protecting me. But don't _any_ of you think for a _moment_ I will sit by and let those I care about risk their lives just to protect mine. I _am_ fighting, too." As these words fall from my lips I lock and hold Damon's gaze, making him see that I am dead serious about the fight.

A voice so similar to mine causes all four of us to jump and turn towards the door. "A true Petrova," Katherine says softly, smirking in grim amusement at having caught us all by surprise.

"I thought you were watching Jeremy," I say softly.

"You let _her_ watch Jeremy?" John demands.

Katherine rolls her eyes. "I went into that cell and touched your brother. That sense I get of the future sometimes strengthens into an actual vision when I come in physical contact with someone or something. Jeremy will not be waking until just past one tomorrow afternoon. I locked him back up and dragged Stefan to the house, locking him up as well. Then I came here to make sure that Caroline will be fine," she says.

"Why are you worried about _Caroline?"_ Bonnie demands.

Katherine shoots a withering glare towards John. "I would rather not say too much around _him,"_ she growls. "After his and Isobel's betrayal, I trust _neither_ of them with anything more than the bare minimum that they need to know to keep them safe, and only _that_ much because they are Elena's parents." She frowns at John. "As Elena told you, a threat against her life will be coming to Mystic Falls. I don't know when, exactly, but that threat _will_ come and _will_ try to use her in as a ritual sacrifice," she tells him so coldly that I can practically see the frost on her breath. "If you and Isobel wish to keep her alive, you will do _exactly_ what is asked of you, no more, no less. But _all_ of you know this much: as with all my descendants before her, Elena _will_ one day join the ranks of the undead if she manages to survive Klaus' intentions. There is no way around that destiny. When, where, or even _why_ it will happen, my source would not confide."

John lets out a groan of despair. "That is _exactly_ what Isobel and I were trying to protect her from," he tells Katherine angrily.

Katherine's eyes soften just the slightest. "I never wanted this life for _any_ descendant of mine. But the Fates have their own plans and _none_ of us, mortal or immortal, can stand in their way. I was destined to become the matriarch of a line of vampires descended from a child I had as a human." She turns her eyes to mine. "And Elena is destined to be the last of that line. A lineage started and ended with a doppelganger. I'm sorry, Elena, but you will never give birth to a child. You will never be a mother. It is not what the Fates have planned for you."

I watch her, feeling as if all my blood has turned to ice. Damon is immediately there to catch me in his arms as my legs give out on me. I grip his designer shirt in one fist while the nails of my other hand dig deep into his arm, breaking skin, my body shaking like a leaf. The _only_ thing that had kept me from fully embracing the idea of becoming a vampire was the thought that I might one day want to become a mother, though I'm not ready to do so right now. But now I find out that motherhood was _never_ an option for me because these so called 'Fates' don't have it in their plans?

"What are these 'Fates' you keep mentioning?" Bonnie asks.

"The Fates are the three divine sisters who weave the Tapestry of Time," Damon explains shakily before Katherine can do more than open her mouth. "Each thread on that Tapestry represents the entire _life_ of an individual in our realm. The only thread spun by the Fates that is not a _part_ of the Tapestry represents the Seer, an immortal that _cannot die._ The thread representing the Seer is the thread the Tapestry of Time _hangs_ from. The Seer hold all the knowledge of Time." I can sense the absolute _awe_ he is experiencing when he looks at Katherine. "You actually _met_ the Seer, haven't you?" he asks..

She nods, once. "It wasn't until after I had to abandon you and Stefan that I found Her, though I've been searching for Her from the moment I completed transition. I had so many questions that only She could answer. It is unfortunate that She can only tell what the Fates _say_ She can speak of."

"I have never even _heard_ of this 'Seer' and the 'Fates' are made up so that we don't have to feel so bad when our lives take a rotten turn," John sneers from the hospital bed.

"Witches, vampires, and werewolves are real," Katherine says coolly. "The Spirits that good witches call on as a source of their power are real. Even the existence of ghosts is true. There are true demons from the pits of Hell in this world. I have seen them with my own eyes. I've talked with some of God's own angels. What makes you so _absolutely_ certain that there isn't _something_ out there that guides the path of _all_ our lives?" she asks, cocking her head to the side as she examines him like the predator she is. "You are a believer in God. I know this for a fact. Why do you blind yourself to the sisters who weave the Tapestry of Time as _He_ dictate?"

John fidgets uncomfortably as she continues to watch him as a lioness would watch a gazelle she was contemplating killing. He opens his mouth to answer several times only to close it again as she continues to study him as if he were a potential meal. _I_ can see what she is doing to him. Damon has done it often enough to me for me to recognize that she is trying to prove to him with a _look_ that she could, if she so wanted to, lunge in and destroy him before anyone can come to his rescue. She is playing a game to mess with his mind, to intimidate him. I had _refused_ to play that game with Damon, knowing instinctively that I would have died _long_ before I ever saw him if he had been as ruthless a predator as he had wanted me to believe. I knew he had been trying to play a game of cat and mouse with me, and I was determined to stop him. I have known since I met his ice blue eyes the day I met him in the boarding house entry that buried deep inside this devastatingly handsome yet coldhearted man was a lost and lonely soul that had been hurt very badly many times over. And I knew from the second his lips touched my hand that _I_ would be the one to bring his humanity back into the light.

I realize that perhaps Katherine, also, had found some reason to bury her humanity. Her humanity switch isn't _fully_ off, though. I can see _that_ clearly. But it's _definitely_ not on. I realize with a start that maybe she has somehow found a middle ground on that switch, where she can _separate_ her feelings from herself and set them to the side if she felt she needed to. When it becomes clear that John is unable to see past the predator in Katherine to the woman inside, I clear my throat, drawing four sets of eyes to focus on me. Bonnie had watched silently as Katherine used her inner predator to intimidate John.

"It's late," I remind my friends and Katherine. "I want to get back to the boarding house in case Jeremy wakes up ahead of schedule. My brother has lately taken to waking up _before_ the alarm goes off. He might decide to do it this time too."

"While I doubt that fear has merit, I concede that neither you _nor_ your witch-friend can go much longer without sleep," Katherine replies, watching as I try to pull out of Damon's arms only to nearly fall on my face when a wave of exhaustion washes over me. It is only because of Damon's vampire reflexes that I don't crack my head on the hospital floor.

Despite my protests, Damon scoops me up to carry me bridle-style. When I realize that he has decided to embrace his stubborn side on this, I cross my arms and look over at Bonnie. _She,_ at least, manages to keep from falling over as she stumbles through the door Katherine opens for us. Damon carries me out after her and Katherine follows us, closing the door. The four of us make our way out of the hospital, Damon repeatedly assuring the worried staff that I am just tired, that I've had a long day, and that he intends on getting me into a bed so I can sleep.

Katherine is immediately on Bonnie's heels as my friend makes her way towards her car, digging through her purse for her keys. As soon as the keys are free of Bonnie's purse, Katherine snatches them from her hand. Damon stops and we watch in amusement as Katherine proceeds to inform Bonnie that she is _not_ about to let the witch drive when she can barely keep her eyes open. As Bonnie tries to protest, Katherine forcefully guides Bonnie into the passenger seat of her own car before fastening her in. Katherine shuts the door on my friend and is almost instantly climbing into the driver's seat.

Damon finishes carrying me to his car, tucking me into the passenger seat. He doesn't even give me a chance to see if I can buckle my own seatbelt, doing it for me. Then he shuts the door and zips around to the driver's seat. I quickly fall asleep when Damon starts softly humming a hauntingly beautiful melody on the drive back.

I rouse to a state of semi-awareness when he lifts me into his arms after we reach the boarding house. I snuggle against him as he carries me inside. His delicious scent continues to surround me even after he gently tucks me into a bed and I realize that I am laying in _his_ bed just before sleep claims me yet again, immensely grateful that he had _not_ taken me to Stefan's room. Just as a horrid nightmare starts to take over me, that melody Damon had hummed comes and chases it away as I feel a cool hand stroke my cheek. I vaguely sense Damon watching over me as I sleep. Every time a nightmare tries to start, that song and the cool touch of his hand quickly chases it off. I manage to get the best night of sleep I've had in a _very_ long time and know that it is only because Damon decided to stay by my side to keep my nightmares at bay despite the fact that the day _had_ to have worn him out just as much as it had me, if not more so. After all, _I_ wasn't the one who had nearly been killed tonight.


End file.
